


The Side of the Road, Again

by h_nb



Series: Keaton [4]
Category: Original Work
Genre: Blood, Help, Knives, Lost - Freeform, Motorcycles, Rescued, Whump, Whumptober 2020, abandoned, beat up, injured
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-20
Updated: 2020-10-20
Packaged: 2021-03-08 21:14:11
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,559
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27123016
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/h_nb/pseuds/h_nb
Summary: Whumptober Day Twenty: Lost
Relationships: Keaton Angara (OC) & Jae Rivers (OC)
Series: Keaton [4]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1956004
Comments: 2
Kudos: 2
Collections: Whumptober 2020





	The Side of the Road, Again

It was hot. It was the kind of heat that beat down in unrelenting waves, with no slight breeze to bring any kind of relief. Keaton lay in the dirt, only aware of the sun because of how it was shining in his eyes and he couldn't find the energy to shield them. It had definitely been night when he last remembered his eyes being open, and now the sun was beating down on him, only partially covered by the sparse leaves in the trees.

Everything ached. His body felt bruised and battered, and he knew that there were cuts in his back and arms that were covered in dried blood, surrounded by bruises. Keaton twisted on his side slightly, cheek smacking against the hard dirt, and groaned.

He had to get up, that much was obvious. Even though he had no idea where he was, and he could tell that his pockets were empty, the first step was always getting up. So he did, pushing his hands underneath him and sitting up. His back stretched at the cuts, sending new spikes of pain through his chest, and he remembered the knife that was digging into his back as he begged to be let go.

He could barely see the road from where he was sitting, barely visible through the foliage he had been dumped in. The road was also dirt, and the area was silent, no sound of cars passing by or any other noise. Keaton could call for help from where he sat, but there was always a possibility that they would still be around, and that they might come back.

His ankle throbbed as he tried to stand, and Keaton found himself leaning against a thin tree, weight mostly on his good leg, nearly gasping in pain with every step he took. He made it to the edge of the road, sweating from exertion and the sun shining down on him, and looked out at either side of the road, and didn't recognize a single thing.

"Dammit," he cursed, gripping the tree tightly and feeling the bark digging into his skin. For all the ways the sun beat into his skin and made him sweat, it also wrapped around him in a way that made him want to do nothing more than lay down and pass out again. He couldn't, he knew that, but the idea was tempting.

Keaton stood at the edge of the road for minutes that felt like hours, watching the road waver in the heat. His mouth was dry, and his head felt like it hadn't stopped spinning since he sat up. He watched for cars but nothing came for quite some time.

He tried to walk, but it was slow going with the way his ankle screamed in protest at every step. He made it a little ways before he was forced to stop and rest for a time, leaning against a tree while he watched for cars or any other person to arrive.

After a while, he could see a new path branching further into a woods, and a small house further in some kind of small valley. Keaton stood at the edge of the hill, breathing heavily, and looked down at the house, wondering if he could make the decline without tripping and tumbling his way down the hill. Noting the lights in the windows below, he started to edge his way down to it, still clinging to the trees around him.

The sudden rumble of a truck startled Keaton, and when the truck turned and pressed on the horn Keaton slipped, ankle giving out and sending him tumbling down the hill. His face began dripping with fresh blood as his nose slammed against the pine covered dirt and rolled over, scrabbling at the hard earth to slow himself down.

The truck door slammed, and the sound of footsteps thudded on the forest floor. A hand gripped his arm, not harshly, but Keaton still flinched back as he was pulled up, squinting in the sunlight at the man in front of him. He was an old man, with scruff around his jaw and hardset, glittering eyes.

"Sorry," he gasped, still trying to catch his breath after falling so hard. "I- I was just looking for somewhere with a ph- a phone, please don't-"

"Woah, hey, s'alrght, kid. What the hell happened to you?" Keaton was hauled to his feet, legs buckling instantly.

"I- I'm okay, just- need a phone, to call a- a friend. Sorry." Keaton bumped against a tree, good leg trembling with the weight it was holding.

The man grumbled something Keaton couldn't understand under his breath before thrusting his phone at him. Keaton opened it with shaking, bloodstained fingers, navigating to the number pad, and typing in a phone number.

"Hello?" A bright voice asked. There was the sounds of things rummaging, like this person was currently picking things up or washing dishes. "Who is this?"

"Hey... Jae? You're not, ah, busy, are you?"

"Just cleaning, so no." There was a pause, and then, more agitated. "Wait, why are you calling from this- this isn't your number."

"No, I... woke up, basically here." Keaton let out a slightly bitter, hopeless laugh. "I'm- I don't... where am I?" He looked at the stranger as he spoke, tentatively smiling.

"You're just outside of Forton. You sure you shouldn't be calling the police, kid?"

"Forton?" Jae said, and Keaton could hear the sound of keys clanging together. "I'm on my way." The call ended.

Keaton exhaled, shaking his head at the man. "No, I'm... I'll be alright. Hey if it's not a big deal, you think I could have some water?"

"You look like you've been though hell, I'll bring you something to eat, too." Instead of making the trek down the hill to the house, the man, who introduced himself as Liam Peters, helped Keaton to the bed of his truck and opened the back for him to sit down in. Keaton waited there, in the brief respite shade provided, wincing with every little movement but hiding it best he could.

It must have been an hour they were out there, Liam asking questions that Keaton avoided best he could, enough to keep the man from calling the police but not so much to completely spill the awful truth.

At some point, Liam handed him a flannel that smelled of woodsmoke and the earth. "I know it's hot as hell out, but wherever you're going you probably don't want people staring at what's on your back, I reckon."

Keaton clenched his jaw as he pulled his arms through the sleeves and over his back, sweat dripping down his neck. "It's gonna get blood on it, I'm really sorry about that."

"Don't sweat it. Well, I guess that's unavoidable in this heat, but..." the man trailed off. "It's fine, really. Been meaning to get rid of the thing for a while, anyways."

Keaton twitched, sitting up a bit straighter, and felt something on his back tear, and suddenly he couldn't tell whether his back was dripping with sweat or blood. Probably both, Keaton figured.

Soon, a motorcycle could be seen down the road, growing closer with every second. Keaton squinted at the vehicle, more staring at it for something to do than anything else. To his surprise, the motorcycle came to a stop, and the rider climbed off. Taking off her helmet, out came wavy blonde hair and a concerned look in his eyes, and Keaton smiled in relief as he realized that Jae had arrived.

"Holy crap," he said, leaning on the side of the truck as he stood. "I didn't know you had a motorcycle."

"Yeah, there's a lot of stuff you don't know, I think." Jae set a careful arm around Keaton to support him, walking him to the motorcycle. "You good to ride this thing?"

"Yeah, I- think so. Old friend of mine had one, used to ride with her." Keaton took deep breaths as he moved closer to the motorcycle, leaning heavily on Jae. He turned to face Liam, giving him as much of a smile as he could muster. "Thank you for all the help."

"Yeah, thank's for taking care of this fool while I came and got him," Jae laughed, waving to the man. Then, quieter, to Keaton, "So, how long till I stop finding you on the side of random roads?"

"Depends on my luck, and we know how that's going for me."

"It'd go better if you were more careful."

"Well, where's the fun in that." Keaton nodded all the same. "I'll try, I promise."

Jae laughed again, shaking his head. He handed Keaton a helmet, but when Keaton struggled to lift his injured arms Jae took the helmet back and put it on his head for him. "Alright, let's go," she said, helping Keaton onto the back of the motorcycle. "Arms around me."

Keaton didn't need to be told before he was slumping forward a bit, putting his arms around Jae and holding tight. "Yeah, alright," he said, doing his best to keep his balance centered. "Thank you."

"You know I'll always show up to getcha." There was a smile in Jae's voice as he started his motorcycle again, driving the two of them off and back to safety.


End file.
